yes, Joplin might have the "insert drawing" feature that allows for a handwritten image to be inserted, but that isn't what I mean. I'm talking about being able to Directly draw on the pages with a digital pen in the same way that Xournal++ and Onenote does. It's the only thing that stops me from using it, and it's why I'm still using Onenote.
I know this might have been asked before, but it's been several years since this has been first asked (topics dating back to 2020) and there does not seem to be any update from the developers regarding this feature. I'd like to know from the Developers about If they are going to implement this feature, why they don't seem to be doing so, what is stopping them, or why they chose not to implement this feature.
One reason might be that Joplin notes are essentially text-based (Markdown). I'm not a core developer, but I think supporting handwritten annotations would require another format and that would add much complexity.
I'm currently writing a Joplin Notes article series gulinux.ch about Joplin. And in the comments on Mastodon and under the articles, this is a common question or criticism.
I understand that due to the Markdown formatting, handwritten recognition is not or not easy to implement, but from my point of view, this is actually one of the biggest points why people are hesitant to switch or not completely satisfied.
We also have a teacher column on gnulinux.ch. Among other things, they write about switching to Joplin and Xournal++. They partly export from Xournal++ to Joplin. If there could be a better integration, it would certainly be a big plus.
Maybe @laurent can comment on the technical challenge and feasibility?
Drawing directly on the notes is not something we have considered yet, although it's supported when importing notes with drawings from OneNote. The obvious challenge is that notes with drawings lack flexibility - the text can't be reflown in particular because the drawings will no longer be aligned with the text. However Joplin notes may appear in many different contexts (mobile, desktop, web). I guess we could have a special "frozen" layout when some drawings are made on top of a note.
Note that you can also use the recently added drawing feature to make various drawings, add text, etc. but this is done within a canvas, not on top of the text.
I have a somewhat different view: Nebo handwriting recognition is an amazing product, I never cease to be amazed how powerful it is at recognising my scrawls. It's document management however is a million miles away from Joplin. How I'd love if the two somehow came together...!